- sargassum
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/sahr gas"euhm/, n.any seaweed of the genus Sargassum, widely distributed in the warmer waters of the globe, as S. bacciferum, the common gulfweed.[1900-05; < NL; see SARGASSO]
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They are adapted for a free-floating tropical environment, even though many species grow attached to rocks along the coast. The Sargasso Sea, a free-floating mass of seaweed (mostly S. natans), occurs in the Atlantic Ocean. Sargassums are also known as sea holly because of their highly branched stems with hollow, berrylike floats and many leaflike, sawtooth-edged blades. They are used as fertilizer in New Zealand and as a component of soups and soy sauce in Japan.* * *
▪ algae genusalso called gulfweedgenus of brown algae (150 species) generally attached to rocks along coasts in temperate regions. The Sargasso Sea is characterized by a free-floating mass of seaweed, predominately S. natans and S. fluitans, in the western Atlantic Ocean.Sargassum is also known as sea holly because of its highly branched thallus with hollow, berrylike floats (pneumatocysts) and many leaflike sawtooth-edged blades. It is used as fertilizer in New Zealand. Most species reproduce sexually, but S. natans reproduces only by fragmentation.* * *
Universalium. 2010.